A CRIMINAL gang set up a cannabis empire worth over £2.3 million in a Scottish city.
Police found cannabis farms with over 3000 plants in two derelict buildings in Dundee after a sequence of raids.
Dundee Sheriff Court was told that three members of an Albanian drugs gang used a disused warehouse and a former garage, in Lorne Street and Ash Street respectively.
Three members of the gang now face jail and deportation.
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Fiscal depute Joanne Ritchie said: "In December 2023, Police Scotland received intelligence about a former cannabis cultivation. Electricity to the (warehouse) property was being taken from the main power lines in the street and cabling was housed underground and concreted over.
"Power was cut to the entire street to ensure the safety of officers carrying out the search. Entry was gained by cutting through a side door."
Ritchie added: "In total there were 912 plants recovered, with a combined potential value of between £182,400 and £684,000. A vacuum-packed bag of cannabis weighing 296 grams was found with a value of £2960."
She added, in relation to the Ash Street premises: "A large-scale cannabis cultivation was found.
"There were living quarters on an upper floor, where the accused and another male had been staying. The total number of plants seized was 2242.
"These have a potential value of £200 - £750 per plant. That would mean the overall potential value of the plants would be between £448,400 and £1,681,000."
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